Friction-clutch.



VAN ZANDT'M. MUORE. -FEIGTION CLUTCH. APPLIOATXON FILED 00T. 3,1808.

' Patented Mar. 8, 1910.

VAN ZANDT M. MOORE..

' l PRIGTION CLUTCH.

Patented Mar. 8,1910.

s SHEETS-SHEET a.

VAN ZANDT M. MRE.

PRIGTION CLUTCH.

A APPLIOATION FILED 00T. 3, 190B. y

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

VANv ZANDT IVI. MOQRE, F CLEVELAND, OHIO.

rnIcTIoN-CLUTCH.

sanear.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar.. d, 1910.

Application filed October 3, 1908. Serial No. 456,078.

To altwhom t 'may concern:

Be it known that li, VAN ZANDT M. MOORE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of 0hio, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Friction- Clutches, of which the following isa full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

My invention provides a construction for the transmissionl of power from a drive shaft to a driven shaft in vwhich the driven shaft will progressively take up the motion of the drive shaft by virtue of which the machine or other device operated by the driven shaft, as well as the driving motor, will be relieved from those jars and jerkings which result whenever the ent-ire power of theJ drive shaft is suddenly communicated to the driven shaft.

The progressive action of my clutch is entirely automatic, it being necessary simply to throw the clutch in, when, due to the construction hereinafter set out, the drivenl shaft will gradually take up the motion of th'e drive shaft and will ultimately be driven at the same rate of speed. i

'. l`he invention further comprises the elef ments and combinations` thereof set out in the claims.

The clutch may be normally in position to hold the drive shaft and driven shaft in clutched relation and is so illustrated herein.

Reference should be: had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a longitudinal sectional elevation of the clutch; Fig., 2 is a section upon the line a-a of Fig. 1 with the clutch used in clutched position, some of the clutch shoes being shown in partial section; Fig. 3 is a view similar to'Fig. 2, with the shoes in unclutched position; Fig. 4 is an-en larged perspectlve showing a clutch shoe and the sleeve for operating the same in their operative relation; F ig. 5 'is a development in a horizontal plane of the sleeve for operating the slices; l `ig. 6 is a sectional elevation of the operating sleeve and associated parts.

As shown in Fig. 1, the driveV shaft is represented at 1,' which in this instance is shown as the crank shaft. of `an engine, though it will be perfectly obvious that motion may be imparted to the shaft 1 by any desired form of motor.l Again, l have illus- `trated my invention as being associated with and comprising the fly wheel upon the crank shaft, but it will be evident that my device need not necessarily be so embodied.

rUpon the shaft l is mounted a chambered member 2, in this instance, aly"wheel recessed upon one side. This recessed portion occupied by the operating parts of the clutch. A member 3 is secured upon the shell 2, which member` is composed of suitable friction material, and is secured to the member 2 by means of bolts or in any desired manner. The member 3 is formed with an inclined face upon its inner surface which engages with the friction shoes in a manner hereinafter described.

rlhe member 2 may be made integral withthe drive shaft, if desired, or it may be attached thereto in any desired manner, as shown in Fig. l.

The driven shaft is indicated by 4. It is mounted on a suitable'bearing beyond the clutch and at its innery end has a bearing on a reduced portion 1 of the shaft 1, or the member connect-ing that shaft with the chambered member 2. On this driven shaft is mounted a sleeve 5 which is splined or otherwise secured on the shaft so as to rotate therewith, .but is capable of longitudinal movement along the same. Near the outer end, the sleeve is provided with a collar 6 formed with a groove in which engage pins 7 formed upon a lever. 8, aportion of the lever yokinv around the collar by two arms 10 upon which are` located the pins 7 in proper position to engage the collar 6 upon opposite sides thereof. 4

The sleeve 5 has an enlarged bore, as indicated at 11, for the accommodation of a spring 12, which spring presses upon the member 2 and occupies a suitable recess 13` whereby the spring is held in its proper position. rllhe inner end ofthe recess 11 is.

.occupied by a ball thrust bearing lei against which the opposite end of the spring 12 abuts.' This allows the spring to rotatev freely when the sleeve is stationary.

,U on the sleeve 5 is mounted a plate l5 whicIh, by suitable `key and key-way connection, is secured to the sleeve so as to rotate therewith., but be capable of longitudinal movement alon -the same.

Upon the p ate are mounted a plurality of friction members 1G, which are formed at their central portions witha lloess through which is an opening occupied by a stud 17 which screws into the plate 15, and

is clamped by means of a nut 13. The studs 17 are of sufficient length to allow the memn bers 16 to swing about the stud 17 as a pivot. At the outer ends, the members 16 are formed with surfaces which are portions of a cone, so as to be complementary tothe surface of the member 3. Upon these complementary surfaces are secured suitable friction material 19, whereby clutch shoes are provided.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the engaging portion of each shoe is beyond the point at which it is pivoted. It will be seen that when the shoes are in unclutched positions,

one end thereof will always bein contact with the friction member 3, so that at no time will there be any rattling; whether the clutch is engaged or idle. The shoes are formed at one end with a recess 2O and at the opposite end with a projection 21, 'and when assembled, the projecting end 21 of each shoe occupies the recess 20 of the shoe which is immediately adjacent to it. ln this manner the shoes are retained in alinement.

The inner ends ofithe members 16 carry rollers 22 which are ada lted to engage respectively with a series o grooves, as 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 formed in the inner end of the sleeve 5. There is one groove 'for each clutch shoe and these grooves all have inchnes with respect to the axis of the sleeve, so that the movement of the sleeve swings Ehe shoes into clutching or unclutching posiion.

In Fig. 5 is shown a. development in a horizontal plane of the kgrooves 23 to 23 respectively. It will be notedthat each of the grooves is formed with a straight portion 26, 27, etc., and with an inclined portion 26", 27", etc., and that the length of 'the l.straight portions of the grooves decrease from the groove 23 to the groove 23, while the lengthof the inclined portions of the said grooves increase inthe reverse direction the dividing points between the straight and the inclined parts of the grooves being indicated by the line Aufl.

While the points at which the inclined ortions of the grooves begin to diverge trom the straight portions vary in successive grooves, the variance is y,in the angle of divergence, and not `in the extent of it, which is the same in all the grooves. This is indicated by the lines d and d representing the total lateral distance between centers in the most widely differing grooves, e'. e. 23 and 28 i Accordingly, while the time atA in F ig. 5. which the clutch shoes begin to act, as the sleeve moves, varies, the total movement of each shoe is the same.

The normal position of the shoes 16 is in eenen clutched position, due to the expansive force of the spring 12, and in this position, the

rollers 22 on the shoe Shanks will engage their respective grooves at their outer ends or in the straight portions thereof. When the lever 8 is pressed inwardly against the action of the spriiw 12, the sleeve 5 is carried in a. forward .t irection, and the rollers travel in a path represented by the configuration of the groove,- and the shoes are accordingly moved about their pivots in a direction to release them from their engagement with the friction member 3. When in unclutched position, the rollers 22 will oceupy positions at the inner ends of the grooves with which they are associated.

When it is desired to bring the drive and driven shafts into clutched relation, the lever 8 will be released, whereupon the action of the spring 12 will cause the sleeve 5to be pushed back. This will cause the rollers 22 to travel in the grooves toward the outer end thereof. By reference to Fig. 5, it will be seen that the roller which oceu pies the groove 23 will traverse the inclined portion 23b thereof and move into the straight portion 23a before the roller which occupies the groove 24 moves into the portion 24a, or in fact before any of the rollers that occupy the other grooves move into the straight portions of their respective grooves. This will cause the shoe which is operated by the roller associated with the groove 23 to come into contact with the friction snrface 3, at a period of time in advance of that of any of the other shoes. But it will be immediately followed by the shoe which is operated by the roller in the groove 2t which in turn will be immediately followed by the shoe operated by the groove 25 and so on.` until all the shoes are in engagement. It will be seen that in this way ythe shoes are causedv to engage. the friction surface and to become clutchedin a progressive manner so that all power which is developed by the drive shaft 1 will be transmitted to the driven shaft l progressively, or in a series of steps, which will relieve the drive sha ll and driven shaft and their associated devices from any jar or racking which is so destructive to the parts which are in connection with said shafts.

When the shoe which is associated with the groove 28 has been brought into clutched position, the entire power developed by the shaft 1 will be transmitted to the shaft l for the spring 12 will serve lo hold theshocs in complete engagement' with the friction surface 3.

Upon the sleeve 5 are mounted a series of rods 30 which are secured at one end to tho collar 6 and at their other ends to a broken flange 31. Upon the rods 30 are springs 32 which in their assembled positions will be seated within recesses 33 formed in the cenlll) sanear tral hub portion of the plate 15. rlhe purpose of these springs is to hold the members 15 and 5 in their proper relation to each other andto preventI rattling, looseness and uncertainty of the plate and shoesvvhen the sleeve is moved to operate the clutch.

In Fig. 2 the direction of rotation of the outer clutch member is, indicated by the.

arrow. 4'lhe action of this rotation on. the engaged clutch shoes is to move Ithem in the same direction, which tends to swing them about y their pivots into closer engagement with the inclined surface on theouter clutch member. Accordingly, my clutch automatically tightens itself, constantly compensating for wear.` In this self-tightening feature my invention also diersradically from the ordinary conical clutch wherein the ro` tation has 11o-such effect.

Having thus described my invention, l claim: .y i

1. 'llheV combination of .a driving and a driven member having conical surfaces, one of which is composed of a number of individually pivoted seetions arranged in a cii'-,

cuit and means for causing axial movement o' said sections as a unit relatively to the other member, and means for swinging the -sections individually on their pivots.

2.,'.l`he combination of `a driviner and a driven shaft, a conical friction member upon one of said shafts, a second member having a plurality of friction shoes arranged in a `circuit and adapted to engage theufriction member mentioned, and means for causing such engagement to be progressive by the individual movements 'of the shoes, and

means for maintaining the engagement by axial pressure of the two members relative to each other.

3. The combination of a conicalfriction member, a plurality of friction shoes, each composed of a segment of a-cone and all being arranged to present one interrupted conical surface, andl mea 1s for causing said slices to move en masse longitudinally and means for moving said shoes individually to engage the friction member successively.

4'. rlhe combination of a conical friction member, a series of shoes arranged in a circuit and having their combinedsurfaces formingan approximate complementary member, means for changing the distance in an axial direction between said member and said shoes, and means for causing the shoes to successively engage or disengage the member first mentioned. Y

The combinationof two conical clutcli members. one of which has its clutching sur- -face smooth and the other its clutching surface composed of a number of rocking shoes, and means for rocking such shoes individually'to .cause the engagement or disengagcment, and meansl for pressing the same axially to maintain them in presentation.

with, a series of conical `segment shoes, a longltudinally movable member on driven shaft, a conical friction member mounted upon one of said shafts, a plurality of conical segmental members" adapted to engage the friction member mounted upon the other of said shafts, a spring normally tending to hold the said members'in engagement,

means for holding the friction members disengaged, and means whereby the plurality of members may progressively engage the 'other' friction member.

8. The combi-nation of a driving `and a driven shaft, a conica-l friction4 member mountedupon one of said shafts, a sleeve mounted upon the other of said shafts, and capable of sliding thereon but rotatin thereriction which the same are mounted, means tending to move such vmember axially and operative connections between the shoes and the said sleeve, `whereby the said series of shoes may be operated by the sliding movement of the sleeve.

9. The combination of two clutch members, one of which has its clutching surface composed of a number of pivoted shoes, an

laxially movable operating sleeve having inclined guides with which inwardly extending arms of said shoes engage, and an axially movable member on `vvhichthe slices are pivoted.

10. The combination of two clutch members, one of which has its clutching surface composed of a number of pivoted shoes having inwardly extending arms with rollers thereon, and an operating sleeve having ini clined grooves which said rollers occupy, the incline of said grooves vbeginning at successively different points whereby the application is progressive.

11. The combination of two clutch members, one of which has itsclutch'ing surface composed of a number of pivoted shoes havinginwardly extending arms with rollers thereon, and an operating sleeve having grooves which said rollers occupy, said grooves being partially parallel with the axis of the sleeve and partially at an angle thereto, the point of divergence ofV such an gular portion varying in the different grooves.

12. The combination of a driving and a driven shaft, a conical friction member mounted `upon one of said shafts. a pluralitvof conical friction members mounted so as to rotate with the other of said shafts,

said last mentioned members being pivotally mounted and having `their outer ends adapty sa ed to engage with the other friction member, an axially movable member on which such mounting is effected, a sleeve mounted so as to rotate with one of the shafts but slidable thereon, the inner ends of said friction members engagingwith-the said sleeve, laterally detlecting groovesin the said sleeve for guiding the ends of the said friction members whereby, as the sleeve is moved longitudinally, the said friction members,

will be moved about. their pivots to engage or disengage the other friction member.

13. The combination of a driving and a l driven shaft, a friction member mounted upon the driving shaft, a supporting inember mounted upon the driven shaft, a plurality of friction memberspivotally secured;` upon said support, the outer ends of said friction members engaging the friction member upon the drivin@` shaft, a sleeve slidably mounted upon the d a plurality of grooves in said sleeve with which the inner ends of said friction members engage, said grooves being formed partially parallel with the axis of the sleeve and partially at an angle thereto, the point of divergence of such angular portion varying in the different grooves so as to cause the friction members to successively and progressively engage the friction member upon the driving shaft, when the sleeve is moved in one direction.

14. The combination of a driving and a driven shaft, a friction member mounted upon the driving shaft, a plurality of frietion members mounted upon the driven shaft, said members being pivotally supported intermediate of their ends, said meinbers engaging the friction member upon the driving shaft at their outer portions, a sleeve slidably mounted upon the driven shaft and adapted to engage the friction members at their inner portions, a spring acting between the friction member on the driving shaft and driven shaft normally tending to hold them in engagement,`means forY moving said sleeve so as to cause the disengagement of the friction members upon the driven shaft 'from the friction member upon the driving shaft, and means for causin the said friction members upon the driven shaft -to progressively engage the friction v member upon the driving shaft when the sleeve is moved in the opposite direction.

15. The combination of a driving and a driven shaft, a conical friction member mounted upon said driving shaft, a plurality of conical segmental friction members, a` movable spring pressed melnber on which said plurality of friction members ai'e pivotally mounted, a sleeve surrounding the driven shaft and engaging with one end of the friction members mounted upon the driven shaft, and means for moving said riven shaft, there being sleeve whereby the said friction members upon the driven shaft will be turned about their pivotal points to cause the said frict tion members to engage or disengage the friction member upon the driving shaft.

16. The combination of a shaft, an axially, movable plate carried thereby, a series -of bell cranks pivoted to the plate, a sliding sleeve formed to rock the bell cranks, the l free arms of the bell cranks constituting conical segmental friction shoes,and a conical clutch member with which such shoes cooperate.

17. rlhe combination of two clutch ineifibers,'one of which has its clutching surface 1 .composed of a number of pivoted shoes` having inwardly extending arms, an operating sleeve having inclined grooves which said arms occupy, the incline of said grooves bei ginning at successively different points, whereby the application is progressive, a spring acting on said sleeve and tending to move it axially in one direction, and means for moving the sleeve axially in the other direction.

18. The combination of a pair of conical clutch members, one being composed of a i series of individually pivoted shoes arranged in a circuit, said pivoted shoes having inwardly extending arms, a sleeve having inclined guideways with which the arms engage, and a member lslidably mounted on said sleeve and carrying the pivots of said shoes.

19. The combination of a slidable operating'sleeve, a plate slidable on said sleeve, clutch shoes ivoted on said plate and having shanks a apted to engage said sleeve to be operated thereby, a spring between thi` plate and sleeve, a second clutch member, and a main spring between the saine and said sleeve.

20. The combination of a driving and a driven' shaft, a friction member, mounted upon the driving shaft, a sleeve mounted upon the driven shaft adapted to rotate therewith but capable of sliding along the same, a supporting member mounted upon the said sleeve, a plurality of friction members mounted upon said supporting member and adapted to engage the friction inemvber upon the driving shaft, aplurality of rods mounted irpon the sleeve, springs surrounding said rods and adapted to exert pressure between the sleeve and supporting member, and means for operating the sleeve so.as to engage and disengage the friction member.

21. The combination of a driving and a driven shaft, a friction member mounted upon the drivin(r shaft, a sleeve mounted upon the driven sliaft adapted to slide along the same and to rotate therewith, a supportin member mounted upon the sleeve, a plura ity of friction members mounted upon lllt) but capable of sliding along thesame, said.

sleeve being recessed at one end, la spring surrounding the driving and driven shaft and seated at one end within thef'recess in 'the sleeve and at its opposite end bearing against the friction member upon the driv ing shaft, a plurality of friction members adapted 4to engage the friction member upon the driving shaft, and operatingconnections between thel sleeve and friction members whereby when the sleeve is moved the vfriction members will be caused to 'engage or disengage.

23. The combination of a clutch member having a conical surface, a cooperating clutch member slidable axially and composed of a series of slices movable toward and from the axis, and means for causing such movement progressively.

24e. The combination offa clutch member composed of a series of segments pivoted on axes parallel with the axis of rotation of the clutch, the combined surfaces of which form an interrupted cone, a cooperating clutch'member having a recess which the member first. mentioned occupies and having an inner -c'onical friction surface, and m ans for causing axial pressure between the two clutch members.

25.' A clut-ch member constituting a fly'-, wheel and formed with a recessiii its side and having a female conical surface as the periphery'of such recess, combined with a coperating conical` clutch member occupying such recess and formed of a series of .shoes mounted on alongitudinally movablev member and individually movable in' a transverse plane.

26. A conical friction clutch wherein one member is composed of individually mov-- able shoes having friction faces which are .segments of a cone, and a spring for pressing said sections bodily in a longitudina1 direction toward the other friction member, and means for moving the segments individually in a transverse direction toward lsaid other member.

2T. A conical friction clutch wherein one member is composed of individually mov able shoes having friction faces which are .segments of ya cone, means for moving the segments individually and successively in a transverse direction to engage with the Vother member, and means yfor exerting pressure in an axial direction on the member composed of the individual shoes.

Q8. A conical friction clutch wherein one member is composed of individually7 pivoted shoes, the normal direction of rotation of the other member tending to cause said slices when in engagement therewith to bind more tightly, both the clutch members being conical, and a spring tending to move one longitudinally with reference to the other,

29. The combination of a conical clutch member and a rotatable'member mounted in a manner providing relative longitudinal movement, and a series of coiiically faced segmental friction shoes mounted on said rotatable member and adapted to have a ltransverse movement toward and from the other conical member.

80. The combination of a conical friction member and a series of complementarily faced conical friction slices arranged in a circuit to provide an interrupted cone, and means for moving said cone as a whole bodily longitudinally of the axis of the clutch and for moving-said segments individually transversely of such axis.

31. 1n a friction clutch, the combination of a conical clutch member, a cooperating member comprising individual clutch shoes having conical segmental faeesand arranged in the form of` an interrupted cone, means for causing relative axial movement between said clutch member and the interrupted'eone, and means for causing transverse movement of the individual slices.

32. In a friction clutch, the combination of a conical clutch member, a, cooperating clutch member having a series of individual shoes which have segmental conical faces and are pivoted on a movable member to present- -aii/ interrupted conical surface, means for causing said clutch member and said movablemember to move toward and from each other, and means for causing the clutch shoes to swing outwardly and inwardly on their pivots on the movable member.

` 33. rlhe combination with a conical clutch member, of a coperatinei member which is an interrupted cone having individual shoes, .and means for movingthe interrupted cone bodily and for moving its shoes individually and successively. i .t

34. The combination with a conical clutch member, of a cooperating member which is an interrupted cone having a series of seg mental-clutch shoes, means for moving the interrupted cone bodily, and a longitudinal sleeve having diverging grooves for moving the shoes individually.

35. In a friction clutch, the combination of a conical clutch member, a sleeve having diverging grooves, a spring between the sleeve and conical member tending to separate them axially, a member mounted on the sleeve, and a series of individual clutch shoes ivoted on saidmember and having their inner' ends occupying said diverging grooves,'said shoes hav1n their outer ends 1n the form of segments ot a cone.

36. In a friction clutch, the combination of a conical clutch member, a sleeve having diverging grooves, a spring between the sleeve and conical member tending to separate them axially, a member mounted on the sleeve, a series of individual clutch shoes ypivoted v'on said member and having their inner ends occupyingA said diverging grooves,

said shoes having their outer ends in the form of sefrments of a cone, said grooves diverging di'erently to enable progressive application of the shoes, and a spring between said sleeve and the member surrounding it tending to move the member into position where the clutch shoes engage.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto nflix my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

VAN ZANDT M. MOORE.

Witnesses:

ALBERT H. BATES, A. J. HUDSON. 

